The Puppeteer's Guardian
by Bravo Tango
Summary: Seasons come and go, but she has always been a constant.


**A little rare pair in the Touhou universe.**

 **A little note:**

 **-I don't know much of the Touhou universe so there might be something off.**

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

 _'Blah'_ — Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

* _Blah_ * — Sound effects in speech

( ** _Blah_** ) — Author's notes

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of** **Touhou Project; they belong to Jun'ya Ota aka ZUN.**

* * *

In a large clearing of land there is a red mansion occupying the center of said land. The area around the building is blocked off with red walls with an iron gate in the front. Near the gate there is a lone figure standing guard; she is wearing a collared white shirt that is covered up by a green vest. For the bottom half she is wearing white pants that are covered by a green skirt with two large slits at the hips.

Hong Meiling yawns into her hand and then smooths out her red hair. She looks ahead to see just trees in front of her. _'Same as always.'_ The redhead places the green beret back on her head and continues to do her job as gatekeeper. Just before she takes a 'break', she spots a white and black speck in the distance.

She shakes her head, _'Here she comes again.'_ As the figures come closer, Meiling sees the signature black hat and broom. "Do you have an appointment Marisa?"

Marisa pulls her broom up and stops in front of the gate. She grins, "Don't need an appointment to check out all the books ze."

Meiling pulls out a card and grins, "Then I'm afraid you'll have to go back home."

.

.

 _20 minutes later..._

Meiling shoots up from the ground with a gasp. _'Did I lose again?'_ She looks back to see the gate and front door open. _'Damn it.'_

 _Ahem_

Meiling turns around to see a woman standing there with a floating doll beside her. "Ah hello Ms. Margatroid. Here for your appointment with Miss Patchouli?"

The newcomer nods, "Yes." She seems to be wearing a blue dress with a white capelet on her shoulders and a red-ribbon sash around her waist. She has yellow hair that reaches to her shoulders and in her arms is a book that looks ancient.

"Well you can go right in." The guard looks back at the damage, "Be careful on your way in."

Alice nods again, "Thank you." She and the doll float into the mansion.

Meiling closes her eyes and sighs, _'How am I going to explain this to Sakuya?'_ She then feels her hands are a little restricted. _'Huh?'_ She looks down to see her hands are wrapped in bandages. She quickly turns around and waves her hands, "Thank you Ms..." The person was already gone. "...Margatroid." She still smiles and begins her work on repairing the gate. Even though the morning started badly, this small gesture brightens her day.

.

. . . . . . . .

.

 _It's such a nice day outside; there are clear skies and a cool breeze. Meiling walks all over the clearing as butterflies follow the guard. The ground looks so nice that you can sleep on it.  
_

 _Ahem_

 _Meiling marvels at the flowers that covers the entire area. She bends down and picks up a plant that has blue petals. It reminds her of the colors of someone's eyes..._

 _Ahem_

 _Snort_ "Huh?"

Meiling yawns and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. She opens her eyes and immediately blushes. _'Oh no.'_ she coughs into her hand, "Ah hello Ms. Margatroid. Here for your appointment?" Surprisingly Meiling regains some semblance of professionalism.

This time the visitor is holding a basket, "Y—"

 _Growl_

 _'...Please kill me.'_ Meiling's face is the same color as her hair.

Margatroid just smiles and reaches into her basket. After rummaging inside for a while, she pulls out a small bag and hands it to the guard. "Here."

Meiling accepts the offering, "Thank you." She perks up, "Oh! Thank you for the bandages the other day."

The blonde waves her hand, "It was no problem."

Meiling pushes the gate open. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Once through the gate, she turns around, "You can call me Alice."

"Okay. Have a good day Ms- err Alice."

Alice nods and walks to the front door of the mansion. The doll following her turns back and waves its chibi arms.

Meiling happily waves back. She turns around and opens the bag; it contains small sweets. She plucks one and pops it into her mouth. Her eyes widen, _'Delicious.'_ Meiling smiles as she continues to eat her sweet gift.

.

. . . . . . . .

.

Snowflakes fall and pile up in the grounds in front of Meiling; her breath becomes visible in the freezing temperature. To combat the cold, the guard wore a long sleeve shirt and fur vest. Meiling concentrates to spread she chi all over her body, keeping her core temperature stable.

She sees a person floating closer to the gate in the distance. She smiles and waits until the figure is close enough for her to wave, "Good afternoon Alice. You're here early."

Alice lands with several dolls floating beside her head; the dolls are holding up two baskets. She nods at the redhead, "Hello Meiling." The puppeteer looks at the guard's clothes, "Are you not cold?"

Meiling raises her arms and looks down, "Oh this? I just use my chi to keep warm."

Alice puts her hand on her chin, "Chi huh..." She mumbles under breath, "An interesting energy source. Maybe I can..." She shakes her head, "In any case..." She steps really close to Meiling.

Meiling tries not to be rude and back away, "Umm, Alice?"

Alice flicks her hand and one of the baskets floats close to them. Alice reaches in and pulls out a red scarf. She beckons Meiling to lower her head, "Here."

Meiling complies and allows Alice to wrap the warm scarf around her neck. She straightens her head, "Thank you."

Alice reaches in the baskets to pull out a pair of red gloves. "Have these as well."

Meiling is touched, "Thank you." Meiling accepts them and slips them on her hands. She feels warmer and now she does not have to waste much of her chi as before. She gets a feel of the gloves and scarf, "Did you make these?"

Alice steps back and nods, "Yes, I knitted them."

"They're amazing."

She smiles, "You're welcome."

"Oh!" She almost forgot her job, "You can go inside if you want."

Alice shakes her head, "It is quite alright, I will wait until it is time."

Meiling tries not to look too happy about that. "Oh alright." But at the same time, she does not know much about the magician. "So..." Meiling looks around and locks on the baskets, "What did you bring for Miss Knowledge?" _'Hopefully I'm not too forward.'_

"Oh I brought something to help her breathing condition." One of the dolls opens the basket and pulls out some fabric to show to Meiling. "I wove some hemp into this blanket. Hopefully it will help her breathing" Alice shakes her head, "Honestly she needs to go out more often."

Meiling just chuckles, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that statement. Then one of the dolls floated up to Meiling; it seems to be the same one that accompanies Alice all the time. It seems to wearing a blue Victorian maid dress with a white apron on top of it. On its shoulders is a white capelet tied with a red ribbon. Just like its owner, the doll has blonde hair and blue eyes. Compared to the other dolls, this doll is slightly bigger and more detailed.

"Shanghai!" The doll waves her arms.

Alice smiles, "Meiling, this is Shanghai."

Meiling happily waves back, "Hey Shanghai."

One of the dolls floats over and taps on Alice's shoulder. "I see." She turns to Meiling, "It seems to be time for my appointment with Patchouli."

"Oh." Meiling slowly opens the gate, "Enjoy your stay Alice."

Alice nods and walks through the gate with her team of dolls following behind her. She stops and cranes her head, "It was... nice to talk to you."

Meiling grins, "Same here."

Alice smiles, "Until next time."

Meiling watches Alice walks into the mansion. As the front door closes, the guard locks the gate and leans against the wall; she pulls up her scarf and enjoys the warm comfort.

.

. . . . . . . .

.

"Alright Meiling watch the house will you?" Remilia, Flandre, Patchouli, and Sakuya are outside the gate.

Meiling bows her head, "Of course Mistress Remilia." She looks at Flandre and pats the blond vampire's head. "Enjoy your time over at the party Flan."

The blonde vampire hugs the guard. "I will."

Meiling watches as all of the residents of the Scarlet Mansion fly off to the shrine. The shrine maiden is holding a party to celebrate their victory in solving a recent incident.

After they were gone, Meiling sighs and watches the leaves moves with the breeze. _'I want to go too. I wonder if Alice is there.'_

 _One hour later..._

Meiling sees a distant figure coming toward her direction. _'Is that...'_ Her eyes widen, _'Alice?'_ As Alice comes closer, Meiling sees a team of dolls carrying baskets with them. When the blonde lands, she walks up to them and gestures wildly, "Ah Alice everyone left for the party- I mean it's good to see you here but what are you doing here?"

Alice pats her skirt to smooth any wrinkles before she looks up to Meiling, "I know that since I saw everyone at the party. And the reason I am here is because I want to see you."

Meiling's heart soared and she tries not to grin like a dopey idiot. "Oh-Okay."

Alice snaps her fingers and a pair of dolls brought out a picnic blanket; the other dolls came over and begin bringing out foods and drinks.

Meiling slightly panics, "Ah we could go to the roof for a better view."

Alice cocks her head, "But what about your duty here?"

Meiling's shoulders drop in realization.

Alice giggles into her hand, "It is quite alright Meiling. I am the one who came unannounced." Alice walks to the middle of blanket and sits down. She pats on the space next to her, "Please sit with me."

"Alright." Meiling walks over and sits down next to Alice. Shanghai floats over with two cups and a bottle of wine; the redhead accepts the cup and waits as Shanghai pours the drink. "Thank you Shanghai."

The doll nods her head as she finishes pouring the drink. "Shanghai."

Alice waits as Shanghai fills her cup, "Thank you Shanghai." The blonde plucks a snack into her mouth; she takes her time to swallow the food and turns to Meiling. "May I ask you something?"

Meiling takes a sip of her wine before she faces Alice. "Sure."

"How did you become the gatekeeper?"

Meiling looks up as she racks up such an old memory. "Hmmm. Well it all began a long time ago..."

 _Two hours later..._

"...And that's how I got my job here."

"Oh my." Alice waves her hand and her dolls refill the snacks and drinks. "To think you would challenge Remilia."

"Ehehe." Meiling scratches the back of her head. "Yeah, it wasn't a great idea back then."

"Oh? What's this?"

Alice and Meiling look up to see the residents of the Scarlet Mansion back. Meiling scrambles to gets up and bows to the blue-haired vampire. "Welcome back Mistress Remilia."

Remilia waves her off and looks at the picnic scene. "I hope you were not slacking off Meiling."

As Meiling was about to explain herself, Alice rose up and spoke, "She has been doing her duty since we are close to the gate." She snaps her fingers and a squad of armed dolls floats from above the gate. "I also made sure to add in extra defenses for reassurance. It is my fault that I came here unannounced." Alice bows her head, "So please do not blame Meiling."

Meiling turns to Alice, "Alice you don't have to—"

"Meiling."

The guard turns back to see Remilia unsure at this situation. The vampire turns to Patchouli to see even the witch is shocked at Alice's behavior.

But before anything could be said, Flandre hops over and hugs one of the dolls. "Aw they're so cute." She turns to Alice, "How do they move? Did you make them?"

Alice picks her head up to answer the blonde vampire, "With the use of magic I can make them move." Alice's fingers move as two dolls come to the center and dance for the crowd. "And yes, I did make them."

Flandre jumps and claps at the display, "Wow! So cool!"

Alice stares at Flandre for a while before she turns back to Remilia, "To compensate this slight, I can help you make the dolls tomorrow."

Flandre perks up, "Really?" She hops over to her sister's side, "Can she can she?"

Remilia coughs into her hand and tries to be regal as possible, "I accept your offer."

"Yay!" Flandre takes Remilia's hand and they start to chat.

With the attention shifted to the vampires, Meiling leans in and whispers, "You didn't have to do that."

"Nonsense. I came here unannounced."

Meiling opens her mouth—

"And besides," Alice continues, "I have surprise for you."

That shut any objections from Meiling.

One of the dolls floats over to Alice with a pocket-watch. Alice twitches one of her fingers and the doll in Flandre's arms flew over to the puppeteer; that drew the attention of the party once again. "It is getting late so I should be going." She snaps her fingers and her band of dolls efficiently clean the picnic area. Once done, Alice and her dolls float up as the blonde waves at the residents, "I will see you tomorrow."

Flandre happily waves her hands, "See you tomorrow Ms. Doll lady."

Meiling smiles and waves, "See you tomorrow Alice."

Alice smiles at the guard and floats away.

The residents all make their way into the mansion. The head maid Sakuya stares at Meiling's back as the guard is talking to the younger vampire. Then she looks back at the retreating figure of the magician. _'What an interesting pair.'_

.

. . . . . . . .

.

Meiling can barely contain herself as she stands guard at the gate. She rocks on the balls of her foot as she looks for any speck of yellow.

 _Five minutes later..._

Finally, Meiling sees Alice's figure and her dolls in the distance. _'She's here.'_ She can see Alice holding her signature book while the dolls are carrying baskets. The redhead waits until Alice lands in front of the gate. "Good morning Alice."

Alice nods at Meiling, "Good morning Meiling."

Meiling opens the gate, "Flan is waiting for you in her room."

"Thank you." The blonde walks up to Meiling and a doll comes over with a basket. She reaches inside to pull out a doll and offers it to Meiling. "Here."

"Thank you." Meiling happily accepts the gift and examines the exquisite doll; it looks almost like Meiling. "It looks amazing."

Alice smiles, "I am glad you like it." She walks to the mansion, "I'll see you when I am done with Miss Flandre."

Meiling waves at Alice, "See you later." Meiling grins and hugs the doll to her face.

 _Fifteen minutes later..._

Meiling was playing with the doll when she senses the familiar yet uninvited presence. She sighs and tucks the doll under her vest as she waits for the presence to reveal itself. "Do you have an appointment today Marisa?"

Marisa tips her black hat, "Don't need an appointment to borrow some books ze."

Meiling sighs and takes a card out, "Then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Marisa takes out a hexagonal object, "Not happening ze."

 _Ten minutes later..._

"Hahahaha! Better luck next time gatekeeper." The black-white witch zooms into the mansion.

Meiling sighs as she lies on her back, staring up at the blue skies. _'Another loss for me.'_

 _Sniff_

 _Sniff_

She sits up and looks around to area to look for the source. Her eyes widen in horror and she scrambles up to her feet. "NO!" She slides to the dirt and pats the fire away from the doll. "No no no no." She was able to snuff out the flames but the damage was already done; only half of it remains unaffected from the fire.

Something snapped inside Meiling as her entire figure starts to shake. Then the ground cracks beneath her feet and she disappears.

Inside the mansion she becomes a green blur as she speeds through the hallway. It took a few seconds when she sees the library doors blasted open. She stops her legs as she reaches inside to assess the situation: Marisa and Patchouli are having a battle near the ceiling of the library. On the ground level, Meiling sees Patchouli's red-haired assistant, Koakuma.

Her entrance does not go unnoticed as Marisa turns around, "Oh you're back for some more ze?"

Patchouli raises her eyebrow, "Meiling? What are you..." Then she notices the guard's expression, "Wait Marisa—"

Marisa pulls out a card, "Let's do this." The card lights up and hundreds of yellow stars fly out in a neat formation.

Meiling tosses the burnt doll to Koakuma and jumps into the stars. She weaves through the projectiles as if they were snails. To any outside observer it looks like Meiling is dancing among the stars.

Marisa's eyes widen in alarm as the guard comes closer. "Oh crap!" The witch turns around to make some distance between them. But when she fully turns around, Meiling was already in front of her. Marisa was trying to back away but Meiling was faster; she clenches her hands and thrusts her fist straight to Marisa's face. The witch instinctively closes her eyes.

 _BOOM_

A couple seconds pass by before Marisa opens her eyes. Patchouli stands before her with a purple barrier in front of them.

"Meiling!" Patchouli barks at Meiling.

That seems to have its intended effect as Meiling blinks and shakes her head. "Ah Miss Patchouli."

"What do you think you are doing Meiling? You could have—" Patchouli finally notices the damaged doll in her assistant's arms. She sighs and dissipates her shield, "I see." The librarian waves her hand at the door, "Just go fix it before Alice sees it."

Meiling ducks her head, "Yes thank you." She immediately runs to Koakuma to get the doll. With a nod of thanks to the assistant, Meiling makes a quick exit.

Marisa puts her hands behind her neck, "Geez what's her problem ze?"

"That was one of Alice's dolls." Patchouli deadpans.

Marisa's eye go wide, "What!? Alice made one for her?"

"And you just burnt it."

Marisa's shoulders dropped, "Ah crap." She scratches her hair, "I deserve that."

"Yes."

. . . . . . . .

 _Hallway_

Meiling quickly walks through the hall as she tenderly holds the doll, _'Ah what should I do? Should I tell Alice? Maybe I can fix it before—'_

"Meiling."

Meiling freezes. She then turns around and quickly hides the doll behind her back. "Ah Mistress Remilia—"

"Why aren't you at your post?" Remilia stands in the hallway with Sakuya behind the vampire.

"I-I"

"Not only did you lose against that amateur witch, but you left your position at the gate."

Meiling bows her head, "I... have no excuses."

"Hmmm." Remilia stares at Meiling for a while. "As punishment, you are to stay in your room while Sakuya will temporary take over your duties."

Meiling tries not to smile, "Of course Mistress. Thank you for the punishment."

"Good." Remilia walks toward the library, "Sakuya, take Meiling to her room."

The maid bows, "Of course Mistress."

The maid and guard begin walking in the other direction. It was silent for a few moments before Sakuya looks at Meiling, "This is the first time I saw act you this way."

"This is * _Sigh_ * I never felt this way before." Meiling runs her hand through her hair.

"Hmm." Unfortunately they reached to Meiling's room before the maid could say anything else.

Meiling opens the door and goes inside. She turns around and smiles sheepishly, "Sorry for making you do my job."

The maid shakes her head, "It's no problem. And also..." She snaps her fingers and a box appears in her hand. "Figured you'll need it."

Meiling brightens up and accepts the box, "Thank you Sakuya."

"I'll come by later to see how you are doing." Sakuya snaps her fingers and she disappears.

Meiling closes the door and makes her way to her desk. She sets both the doll and the box down on the desk. She sits down and opens the box to reveal various sewing kits. _'Alright, I don't have much time before Alice finishes her lesson.'_ Meiling picks up a needle, _'I hope I do well.'_

 _Two hours later_

 _Knock knock_

Meiling rises her head up from her work on the doll to look at the door. _'Must be Sakuya.'_ She gets up to walk over the door and opens it. "Hey Saku—" Meiling freezes as she sees yellow hair instead of white hair.

"Meiling?" Alice tilts her head while Shanghai hovers nearby, "Are you alright? Sakuya said that you wanted to see me."

 _'Ahhh! You didn't like being the gate guard after all!'_ Meiling chuckles and scratches the side of her head, "Ah it's nothing big."

Alice frowns as she delicately takes Meiling's hand into her own.

Meiling's face becomes the same color as her hair. "A-Alice?"

Alice tenderly traces Meiling's index finger, "Have you been sewing?"

Meiling's mind goes into overdrive, "W-What I've been doing somethi—?"

"Meiling." Alice interrupts, "I have been making dolls and sewing their clothes for a _very_ long time."

"I— * _Sigh_ * Yes I was." Meiling's shoulders drop. "I'm sorry Alice."

Alice stares at Meiling in concern, "What's wrong?"

"It's better to show you." Meiling leads Alice into the room with Shanghai following them.

As they go farther in the room, Alice sees the damaged doll at the table. "Oh."

Meiling looks down at the floor the whole time.

"What is the problem?"

Meiling's head shoots up, "Eh?" Meiling gestures to the doll, "But your doll..."

"First, I gave this doll to you," Alice walks to Meiling, "While this doll is special..." Alice caresses Meiling's cheek, "The real one holds a special place in my heart."

Meiling's face blooms scarlet and her heart starts beating like a drum. _'Did she...'_

Alice steps back and holds her hand out, "It seems I have two people I will have to teach."

Meiling grins like a dopey fool and accepts the puppeteer's hand. Alice leads Meiling to the table as Shanghai closes the door.

.

. . . . . . . .

.

 _One week later..._

 _Scarlet Mansion Gate_

As Meiling stretches out her arms as in front of the gate, she sees six figures in the sky. She smiles as she makes out Alice's figure as the group comes closer. She sees her dolls carrying large boxes behind her.

Meiling then recognizes three figures trailing behind Alice: Cirno, the ice fairy that would sometimes visit to challenge the guard; Daiyousei, the green fairy that is always at Cirno's side; Rumia, the darkness youkai that has a ribbon on the side of her head and always say '~is that so~.'

One figure has feather wings on her back while her ears seem like that of an animal's. The other figure looks like a tomboy with a cape while she has two antennas on her head.

They land on front of the gate and Meiling greets the puppeteer first, "Hey Alice." She smiles at her and then looks at the group, "So what are you girls up to today?"

Cirno puts her fists on her hips, "We got interested when she was carrying those big boxes and she invited us to come along."

Alice hugs Meiling and whispers, "I apologize for the abrupt invitation. I figured Flandre would like the company."

Meiling chuckles and leans in, "I'm sure Flan would love it."

They separate and Meiling opens the gate for Alice. The blonde magician gestures for the dolls to place the boxes down. She turns back to the guard, "Will you look after them for me? I will bring them out."

Meiling nods at her, "Sure."

Alice smiles and walks in with a team of dolls carrying parasols.

"Hey Meiling." Meiling turns to see Cirno posing, "Let's battle!"

Meiling smiles, "Not today. How about you tell me what you've been doing lately..."

 _Ten minutes later..._

"Meiling!" The guard turns around to see Flandre with her teddy bear. Above her head there are a few dolls with the parasols open.

Meiling looks farther back to see Alice walking while Patchouli floats beside the puppeteer. All of three of them reach to the outside of the gate. Flandre see the other girls and raises the bear up to her face. "H-Hello."

Cirno walks up to Flandre and smiles at the vampire, "Hey there, I'm Cirno. That's a cute bear you got there..."

Meiling looks back to see Alice next to her while Patchouli leans on the wall and digs her nose into a book. Alice smiles and pats Meiling's shoulder, "Thank you for watching them."

Meiling smiles and nods, "No problem."

Alice walks to the boxes and unloads them with the help of the dolls. Meiling was about to walk over and help and Patchouli calls out to her, "May I have some your time Meiling?"

"Uh sure Ms. Patchouli." Meiling walks back and leans on the wall.

Patchouli is still looking at her book, "Thank you."

Meiling tilts her head, "Um, for what?"

"You really have changed Alice. I have never seen her smile like that before." They both look at Alice smiling and talking to the girls

Meiling scratches the back of head, "Ehehehe."

"However," The temperature outside somehow got colder and Patchouli looks up from her book to stare at Meiling, "If you break Alice's heart, I will break you down to the atomic level."

Meiling tries not to gulp, "I-I won't."

Luckily the cold atmosphere was broken when Flandre came over. "Hey Alice is done." She grabs both of their hands and drags them over to Alice. "Let's go."

As they got closer, Meiling sees a miniature theatre set up with several dolls standing there. Meiling notices that one of the dolls is suspiciously familiar; she looks up to Alice and the puppeteer winks at her.

"Alright everyone gather around." The audience gets closer and settles in. After everyone is comfortable, Alice starts moving the dolls, "Once upon a time, there was a guardian..."

* * *

 **.**

 **Fin.**

 **Phew this took a lot of time to finish but man I am glad how it came out. A pretty rare pair huh? But I can see it happening with how Alice visits the Mansion.  
**

 **Another thing to note is I think that Meiling is powerful; it's just the system cripples her.**

 **With this one-shot done, I'm going to focus back on my multi-chapter story.**

 **Thanks for reading**

 **Constructive criticisms are appreciated**

 **Bravo Tango out.**


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